Coin-operated vending machines



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 26, 1963 June 16, 1964 R. WHITAKER COIN-OPERATED VENDING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 26, 1963 E INVENTOR E gg ga ATTORNEY June 16, 1964 R. WHITAKER COIN-OPERATED VENDING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 26, 1963 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent .7 .v

Claims 3 Claims. (Cl. 222-69) This invention relates to coin operated vending machines and is concerned particularly, but not exclusively, with coin-operated vending machines for dispensing articles of irregular shape and .size, as for example sandwiches and confectionery.

An objectof this invention is to provide .an improved coin-operated vending machine which is capable of dispensing snacks and confectionery of varying shape and size, without the need for adjustments to the mechanism, and without the need for Sp cial packaging of the articles to 'be dispensed Another objection of the invention is to enable fragile articles, such as biscuits and pastries to be vended without the risk of damage to said articles.

A further object of the invention is to enable unwrapped articles of food to be dispensed with no risks of contamination of said articles by contact with dirty or contaminated surfaces within the vending machine.

Yet another object is to provide a machine which is compact in relation to its storage capacity, simple to load and operate, reliable, and economical to manufacture.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a coin-operated vending machine comprising means for holding a plurality of stackable, non-nesting, reusable pallets captive in said machine, and for presenting said pallets one at a time to a customer upon insertion of a coin into said machine.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a stackable, non-nesting, reusable pallet for use in the coin-operated vending machine, including stationary spacing means for holding said pallets in the correct spatial relationship before and after presentation to the customer.

The improved coinpperated vending machine according to this invention comprises a number of vertical guides arranged side by side within a cabinet. At the lower end of each guide is a drawer slide, adapted to be released by a known type of coin-operated mechanism, which mechanism per se forms no part of the present invention. The articles to be vended are placed in pallets made from an easily cleaned, hygienic material such as a thermoplastic resinous material such as Bakelite, and in a typical application, said pallets are made in the form of a tray having an outward-facing flange around the upper edges, with two outwardly protruding bulges in each side wall to enable a number of pallets to be stacked, one upon the other, without any tendency to interlock or nest together. A number of filled pallets are stacked vertically in the aforementioned guides or channels, the lowermost pallet of each stack being engaged by a drawer slide. The side flanges of the lowermost pallet nest upon fixed horizontal guides, the leading ends of said horizontal guides terminating in pivoted, spring-loaded catches. The drawer slide is arranged to move in fixed horizontal slideways which are extended beyond the aforementioned horizontal guides and spring-loaded catches, said extensions of the horizontal slideways being provided with overhanging lips at their upper edges. Insertion of a coin serves to release the drawer slide for one withdrawal and return movement. In the withdrawal movement, the lowermost pallet is carried along the horizontal guides by the drawer slide, depressing the pivoted, spring-loaded catches, and, after passing over the catches, falling onto a horizontal platpriority, application Great Britain July 26, 1962 3,13 7,410 ented Ju 1 6 form afiixed -to .the .lower edges of the horizontal slideways. At the. fully withdrawn positionofthe drawer slide,

the pallet therefore rests on the horizontal platform between the horizontal .s'lideways, is restrained against horizontal movement by the. drawer slide itself, and .is restrained against vertical withdrawal by the overhanging lips on the upper edges of the horizontal slideways. At this point, :the contents of the pallet are accessible, and can be removedfby thecustomer. Atvthe commencement of the return, movement of the drawer slide, the leading edge of the flange around the topof thepallet strikes the pivoted, spring-loaded catches and the .palletris deflected downwardly by said catches, sothat a continuation of the return movement of the .drawer slide causes the pallet to travel beneath the horizontal guides. At the completion of the return movement of the drawer slide, the pallet is unsupported, and falls into a receptacle placed beneath the drawer slide, accessible only .to the authorized person in FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the drawer mechanism with part of the front of the cabinet removed to show stacks of pallets of two alternative sizes.

Referring to the drawings, a lowermost pallet 1 is supported by fixed horizontal guides 3, which bear upon outwardly protruding flanges 2 of the pallet 1. Protruding bulges 4 enable the pallets 1 to be stacked, without interlocking, between vertical guides 5. A pivoted catch 6 is normally held in the position shown in FIG. 2 by a spring 7. A drawer slide 8 surrounds the lowermost pallet 1 and is provided with a conventional coin-released mechanism (not shown) serving to release the drawer slide 8 for one withdrawal and return movement. The drawer slide 8 moves in fixed horizontal slideways 9, having overhanginglips 10 at their upper edges. The extended portions of the horizontal slideways 9 are joined together at their lower edges by a platform 11.

With particular reference to FIG. 2, it will be seen that when the drawer slide 8 has been released by the insertion of a coin and is withdrawn by a customer, the flanges 2 of the pallet 1 slide along the horizontal guides 3, depressing the catch 6 against the pressure of spring 7. At the completion of the Withdrawal stroke, which is arrested by a stop (not shown) attached to the drawer slide 8, the trailing end of the flange 2 has moved clear of the catch 6, and said catch returns under the action of spring 7 to its original position. At this point the pallet 1 is retained in the vending machine by the lips 10, and cannot be removed by the customer, although the contents of the pallet are readily available for removal.

At the commencement of the return stroke of the drawer slide 8, the flange 2 of pallet 1 is guided downwards by catch 6, the latter being prevented from .moving in an upward direction by an extension 12 of the lip 10. The flange 2 then passes under the guide 3 during the remainder of the return stroke, until the pallet 1 falls oil the platform 11 into a receptacle (not shown) in the lower part of the cabinet. At the same time, the stack of pallets 1 remaining in the guides 5 descends until the lowermost pallet 1 of the stack rests upon the guide 3, ready for the next vending sequence.

I claim:

1. In a cabinet-type c0in-operated vending machine, the combination comprising at least one pair of parallel-spaced vertical guides;

a drawer slide, arranged at the lower end of said pair of vertical guides, adapted to be released by coinoperated latch mechanism;

a pair of horizontal spaced stationary slideways and a platform therebetween, extending laterally in front of the lower ends of said pair of vertical guides for supporting and guiding said drawer slide; 7

a plurality of similar pallets, stacked one upon the other, between said vertical guides, the lowermost pallet of the stack being engaged by said drawer slide;

each pallet having the form of a tray with side and end walls said tray having flanges outstanding from the upper edges of said side and end walls;

fixed horizontal guides located at the lower end of said pair of vertical guides, the side flanges of the lowermost pallet engaging said fixed horizontal guides to support said pallet Within said drawer slide;

whereupon when said drawer slide is pulled outwardly,

upon its release from said latch mechanism, along said stationary slideways said pallet therein will also be pulled out and will drop onto said platform; and

spring-loaded catch means pivotally mounted at a leading end of an aforesaid horizontal guide, said catch the next pallet of the stack.

3. The vending machine defined in claim 1, in which. the extensions of the horizontal slideways are provided 1 at their upper edges with overhanging lips adapted to' restrain a pallet, when in fully withdrawn position, from vertical withdrawal from the vending machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS i 1,018,011 Shank Feb. 20, 1912 2,834,510 Cenotti May 13, 1958* 3,000,538 Haller Sept. 19, 1961 

1. IN A CABINET-TYPE COIN-OPERATED VENDING MACHINE, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF PARALLEL-SPACED VERTICAL GUIDES; OF VERTICAL GUIDES, ADAPTED TO BE RELEASED BY COINOPERATED LATCH MECHANISM; A PAIR OF HORIZONTAL SPACED STATIONARY SLIDEWAYS AND A PLATFORM THEREBETWEEN, EXTENDING LATERALLY IN FRONT OF THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID PAIR OF VERTICAL GUIDES FOR SUPPORTING AND GUIDING SAID DRAWER SLIDE; A PLURALITY OF SIMILAR PALLETS, STACKED ONE UPON THE OTHER, BETWEEN SAID VERTICAL GUIDES, THE LOWERMOST PALLET OF THE STACK BEING ENGAGED BY SAID DRAWER SLIDE; EACH PALLET HAVING THE FORM OF A TRAY WITH SIDE AND END WALLS SAID TRAY HAVING FLANGES OUTSTANDING FROM THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID SIDE AND END WALLS; FIXED HORIZONTAL GUIDES LOCATED AT THE LOWER END OF SAID PAIR OF VERTICAL GUIDES, THE SIDE FLANGES OF THE LOWERMOST PALLET ENGAGING SAID FIXED HORIZONTAL GUIDES TO SUPPORT SAID PALLET WITHIN SAID DRAWER SLIDE; WHEREUPON WHEN SAID DRAWER SLIDE IS PULLED OUTWARDLY, UPON ITS RELEASE FROM SAID LATCH MECHANISM, ALONG SAID STATIONARY SLIDEWAYS SAID PALLET THEREIN WILL ALSO BE PULLED OUT AND WILL DROP ONTO SAID PLATFORM; AND SPRING-LOADED CATCH MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT A LEADING END OF AN AFORESAID HORIZONTAL GUIDE, SAID CATCH MEANS INCLUDING A MEMBER DISPOSED IN THE RETURN PATH OF THE PALLET, DURING RETURN MOVEMENT OF SAID DRAWER SLIDE, FOR DOWNWARDLY DEFLECTING THE FLANGES ON THE PALLET IN SAID DRAWER SLIDE PERMITTING THAT PALLET TO DROP TO A POSITION BELOW SAID FIXED HORIZONTAL GUIDES AND BE REPLACED, IN SAID DRAWER SLIDE, BY THE NEXT PALLET OF THE STACK. 